The Fall 2024 Manga Guide

The Spellbook Library

What's It About? 

When he was a child, troublemaker Yan was attacked by a ferocious spellbeast...until he was rescued by a group of Spellbook librarians. Inspired by the librarians' heroic efforts, Yan vows to turn over a new leaf and become a Spellbook librarian to repay their kindness. On the day of his employment exam, he meets Tohru, a mysterious young boy who has his own reasons for wanting to work at the library. Together, Yan and Tohru set off and join the ranks of The Spellbook Library, and begin the long journey to learn just what it takes to become a Spellbook librarian!

The Spellbook Library has a story and art by Uta Isaki, with English translation by Jacqueline Fung. This volume was lettered by Phil Christie. Published by Kodansha Comics (October 22, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

Although I always associate Uta Isaki with LGBTQIA+ manga (and more specifically manga about asexual characters), they're a much more varied creator. (Official translations use they/them as Isaki's preferred pronouns.) After Is Love the Answer? and Mine-kun is Asexual were released in English, Isaki's action fantasy series Sayabito followed, and now their newest The Spellbook Library is not only debuting in English, it's doing so as part of Kodansha's Portal initiative, meaning that it's being released in English translation before Japanese. It's an interesting situation, because, as Isaki puts it in their afterword, they're essentially creating a shounen manga for American readers.

Fortunately for all of us, The Spellbook Library doesn't read that way. Instead, it feels like a shounen version of Magus of the Library, another library-based fantasy novel. It's much less serious and less racially problematic than Magus of the Library, but that shouldn't deter fans of the one from enjoying the other, because both at their heart are about a love for books and what they hold. It's just that in Isaki's story, “what they hold” is actual spellbeasts, and like any other monster, those can be dangerous. Yan, one of the protagonists of the piece, wanted to become a librarian because he was rescued from a spellbeast as a child by the library's specialized sealing branch. He's come to the city to apply for a job based on his desire to thank the people who saved him and join their ranks, so he's less than thrilled when he's assigned to a different department.

I think, however, that he ought to table that concern because while he does mess up on one of the tests, his partnership with Tohru, another librarian hopeful, can be more of a boost than he assumes. Tohru is outwardly much less driven than Yan, but there's something about him that worries Princess Emel, and she's keeping a very close eye on him. Tohru is almost definitely more than he appears, and there's at least one hint that he may be a spellbeast himself, or at least partially one. (The fact that he wears a tiny book in a pendant around his neck certainly bears watching.) Tohru is an intriguing blend of innocence and determination, and while he's just happy to be in the library, something about him feels a little off. Yan hasn't noticed, of course, but that may turn out to be for the best – he's getting to know Tohru, not whatever Emel thinks he might be.

As always, Isaki's art is clean and easy to follow, with some excellent detailed backgrounds of books and library stacks that are frankly breathtaking. Yan's not all that interesting, but I'm very invested in Tohru and whatever his truth turns out to be, and if you're a bibliophile or a fan of other library-based manga, I think this is worth picking up.

The Spellbook Library represents an interesting approach: a manga published in English before its Japanese release. And I'm glad this was one of the manga Kodansha tried to do it with. The series takes place in a fun world where people everywhere depend on Spellbeasts, creatures bound to magic tomes. Some are friends, some are pets, and some are important tools. Our heroes are new employees of the kingdom's spellbook library, with the book focusing on their early adventures like passing the admission test. There is a lot of creativity at work, with librarians having to serve more like hyper-competent accountants in snappy outfits than mystical wizards. It's a setting rife with possibilities and wonders. Our protagonists—a would-be reformed thug with a heart of gold, a mysterious young man with a curious magic pendant, and a taciturn princess—make for a charming trio.

It helps that much of the world feels fresh and imaginative; the setting is a cute take on an “Arabian Nights”-esque locale (possibly a reference to Sheherazade's 1,001 stories?), and the many Spellbeasts encountered are charming, cute—and, in the case of the giant dragon or the speaking ape, dangerous. A lot of effort went into the look and feel of this series.

If I have to make any knock against The Spellbook Library, it's that it still feels a little shallow—but this is only the first volume of the series. With its high-flying action, wondrous setting, and eye-catching art, this is a great series to pick up and also a fantastic manga to share with younger readers looking for a taste of fantasy. Strongly recommended.